Vector modes generated by primordial density fluctuations

Abstract

While vector modes are usually ignored in cosmology since they are not produced during inflation they are inevitably produced from the interaction of density fluctuations of differing wavelengths. This effect may be calculated via a second-order perturbative expansion. We investigate this effect during the radiation era. We discuss the generation mechanism by investigating two scalar modes interacting, and we calculate the power of vector modes generated by a power-law spectrum of density perturbations on all scales.

10 pages, 2 figures, minor changes in main text and new appendix added to match the accepted version for Physical Review D publication